In the wake of some pretty violent protests throughout South Africa, it has emerged that Cape Town has been rated as best place in South Africa in terms of service delivery. Cape Town has made a strong statement scoring just under 89.5% against the national average of 59.7%. 

Source: The City of Cape Town

The City of Cape Town has been rated as the top municipality in South Africa for Service Delivery by Empowerdex, an economic empowerment rating agency.

The survey covered 231 local municipalities, 46 district municipalities and six metropolitan municipalities. It rated service delivery in terms of housing, water, electricity, waste removal and sanitation in terms of current status and progress over time. The City scored 89,5% compared against a national average of 59,7%.

City Manager, Achmat Ebrahim, said: “I would like to congratulate and thank all City of Cape Town staff not only for achieving this recognition, but for their service and commitment to the residents of Cape Town. This award acknowledges their hard work. It should motivate us to work even harder and use our available resources as wisely, responsibly and cost-effectively as possible. The eyes of the world will be on Cape Town during the FIFA final draw on 4 December and during the World Cup next year. This award gives us confidence in our preparations”.

“We are very proud of our rating on this Service Delivery Index. Cape Town’s rating shows what can be done when a local council demonstrates a strong commitment to doing its job efficiently and effectively and to maintaining sound communication links with our citizens.

“We know that there is still much room for improvement, but with encouragement from this rating and the dedication from our staff we will strive to serve our residents to the best of our ability,” he said.

Echoing Ebrahim’s sentiments, Cape Town’s Executive Mayor, Dan Plato, said: “By any measure, this municipality has much to be proud of in the way in which it contributes to the day-to-day well-being of residents. The City scored 95% for refuse removal and the provision of electricity, 92% for sanitation, 90% for water provision and 85% for housing. We will not, however, rest on our laurels – we can and will do better.”

Martin Pollack